Bomb-magazine for aeroplanes



L. S. CLARKE.

BOMB MAGAZINE Fon AERoPLANEs.

APPLICATION FiLED 1AN.25, 1919.

1,368,322. Patented Feb. 15, 1921.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

A|||lvm|illl|IIIIIIIIHIIIIIIIIIIIIIII mnnumnnumj Louis 5.; 6741726,

-f UNITED sr LOUIS S. CLARKE. 0F HAVERFOBD, PENNSYLVANIA.

BOMB-MAGAZINE FOR AEROPLANES.-

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 15. 1921.

Application filed January 25', 1919. Serial No. 273.002.

, To aZZ whom 'it may concern Be it known that l` Leers S. CLARKE, of Haverford, in the county of Montgomery and State of Pennsylvania` have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Bomb-Magazines for Airplanes, whereof' the following is a specification. reference bein had to the accompanyingr drawings.

he invention relates to bomb carrying and releasing mechanism for airplanes or similar organizations, and is more especially directed to devices of this character having associated means whereby a plurality of bombs may be successively released at the will of the operator.

In the drawings, Figure I. is a plan view of a bomb magazine conveniently illustrating my invention.

Fig. II, is an end elevation of the same as viewed from the bottom of Fig. I.

Fig. III, is an. inverted plan view of a portion of the apparatus and Figs. IV and V, are detail sectional views respectively taken on lines IV-IV and V*V in Fig. I.

The magazine is in the form of' a casing laterally open at its lower side and comprising aV sheet metal top 1, two parallel edges of which are bent at` right angles to form end walls 2, and In this casing the elongated bombs B lie side by side horizontally, and may thus drop sidewise therefrom. This structure is stiffened and at the same time subdivided by a series of spaced longitudinal partitions 5, in parallel relation to lthe side walls 646. Each of the compartments thus formed is adapted to snugly receive a bomb Bf as clearly shown in Fig. III. These bombs are of well known construction and consist essentially of a body portion 7. preferably tapered in form as illustrated, and terminating in suitable guiding fins S, which operate in a manner already well understood. At its forward end, the casing is supplemented by a sheet metal guard 9, of such contour as to present the, minimum resistance to the air during flight.

' The rear end of the casing is appropriately finished by a curved protective guard 10. The parts thus far described are`v in the present instance. rigidly united into a unified structure by means of screws 11, soldering or welding being otherwise resorted to in finishing the adjoining ends of the sheet metal ,portions as indicated at 12 and 13. The device may be suspended from any convenient portion of' the airplane., preferably from the lower face of the main wing. To this end attachment means have been provided in the form of suspension bolts 15, in association with suitable distance pieces 10.

In order to permit successive release oi' the bombs at the will-of the aviator, a manu-Y ally Acontrolled mechanism has been provided. This mechanism includes the bomb retaining finger elements 1T. which are pivotally attached to the dividing partitions as indicated at 1S. The pivot for each of these fingersl consists of a fulcrum pin fixed to the said portions b v metallic. straps 19 19. extend beneath or embrace the bombs at the region of their centers of gravity (Fig. IV) so that a condition of stable equilibrium will be ordinarily maintained. llach of said fingers is supplemented by an integral lock ing arm 20, spaced substantially ata quad rant from the former. These arms are nos mall)v held in a locked upright. position between guiding lugs 26-26, projecting from the partitions 5, by a series of stops having the form of' flanged collars 21, fixed upon a common actuator shaft 22, which is mountcd in suitable bearings 23, upon the top of the casing. openings 25 in the top of the casing and are each formed with a notch 2%,"adapted for coperation with the correspondingclocking arm. In considering the series as a whole, the notches of the collars with one exception are equally spaced about the center ,of the shaft 22, so that, as the latter is intermittently rotated, the said notches are successively brought into registry with the respectively coperative locking arms. as a consequence of which the bombs are released in successive order, the retaining fingers dropping by gravity to the )osition illustrated at the left of Fig. V. Tlle exception above noted, affords a neutral station in which the fingers are all locked.

The successive release of' the bombs, is effected through a pawling mechanism best illustrated in Figs. I and Il. The elements constituting the said mechanism include a ratchet wheel 27, fixed to one end of the shaft 22; and operated through the movement of a tri-arm, consisting of the members rl`he transverse retaining fingers,

Said collars extend through 1 28, 29 and 30. This tri-arm is loosely fulcrumed about the shaft 22, and its main arm 29, carries a spring pressed pawl 31, which coperates with the ratchet 27. A wire cord 32, attached to the end of arm 29, extends to a point so located as to be readily accessible to the pilot of the airplane. The forward motion of the tri-arm in the direction of the arrow (Fig. Il) is limited by the arm 30, which carries an adjustable set screw 33, adapted to engage a fixed stop '35, on the side wall 6, of the casing. The normal position of these parts is determined through the engagement of the member 28, of the triarm with a second fixed stop 36, on the side wall of the casing, the engagement being maintained through the instrumentality of a coiled tension spring 37, effective upon member 29 of the tri-arm. Retrograde movement of the ratchet wheel 27, is prevented by a spring-pressed detent 38.

In operation, the magazine is filled with a charge of bombs, and the shaft 22, set in the neutral position in which the retaining fingers 17 are all held in locked position by the collars 21. When it is desired to release a bomb, the wire 32, is Vpulled to the extent allowed by the stop member 30, of the tri-arm, as a result of which, the shaft 22, is given an increment of rotation sufficient to effect the registry of the notch 24, in one of the collars 21, with the coperative locking arm 20, of the corresponding detaining finger 17. Thereupon, the bomb drops immediately, the induced impulse swinging the retaining fin er to the position shown at the left of Blf-ig. 5 as hereinbefore noted.

The arrangement of the device, as illustrated, is such that the bombs are successively released in a direction from left to right (Fig. V). This arrangement is merely one of choice, any other order of succession may be established by simply changing the angular relation of the notc es 24, in the collars 21.

It will also be readily understood that the capacity of the device may be readily varied, so long as the operative parts bear relations similar to those exemplified in the illustrations, wherein the capacity is limited to six.

Having thus described my invention, I claim: I

1. An airplane bomb magazine comprising a shallow substantially horizontal casin divided by partitions into a series of individual juxtaposed bomb-receiving chambers adapted to contain elongatedbombs in horizontal position and to permit them to drop sidewise therefrom; individual retaining elements for the bombs pivoted to said partitions and normally extending beneath the bombs to retain them in the casing; and a common controlling and actuatin member for said retaining elements extending across the upper side of the casing lengthwise of the row of .bombs and having means for normally engaging said elements to maintain them in effective position.

2. An airplane bomb magazine vmechanism comprising individual retainin elements for retaining a row of bombs side by side in a horizontal position, said retaining elements being pivoted between the bombs to swing in a plane transverse to them and extending beneath them to retain them in position; and a common controlling and actuating member for said retaining elements extending lengthwise of and above said row of bombs and having means for normally engaging said elements to maintain them in effective position. Y

3. A bomb releasing mechanism comprising individual retainin elements for a row of bombs, sto s for ho ding said retaining elements in e ective position, and a single rotary actuat'or for shifting said stops to release the retaining elements extending in y proximity to all of the latter.

4. A bomb releasing mechanism for airplanes comprising a storage casing; pivoted fingers with locking arms for retaining bombs in said casing; and a common controlling member extending in proximity to all of said locking arms having stops for normall engaging said arms and maintaining 'sai fingers in effective position, and for releasing said fingers in succession to thereby release the bombs.

. 5. A bomb releasing mechanism for airplanes comprising a storage casing; pivoted members for normally retaining bombs in said casing; means including an intermittently operated rotary shaft whereby bombs are released in succession with successive operations thereof; a vibrator member; and means whereby rotation is imparted to eaid shaft at each vibration of said member.

6. A bomb releasing mechanism for airplanes comprising a storage casing; a pivoted finger for normall retaining a bomb in the casing, and a locfiing arm associated with said finger; and means for retaining and releasing said fin er including an intermittentl operated s aft with a notched collar t ereon operatively associated with the locking arm of said finger, and means for manually operating the said shaft to bring the notch of the collar into registry and means for manually operating said shaft to bring the notches of the collars successively into registry with the coperative locking arms to effectrelease of the retaining fingers and release the bombs.

8. A- bomb releasing mechanism for airplanes including a storage casing; pivoted fingers for normally retaining a plurality of bombs in the said casing, and locking arms associated with 'said fingers; means for individually retaining and releasing said lingers including an intermittently operated shaft, and a series of notched collars thereon operatively associated with the locking arms of said fingers; and means for manually operating the said shaft to bring the notches of the collars successively intol registry with the coperative locking arms to effect the release of the retaining fingers Witnesses:

JAMES M. BELL, E. L. FULLERTON. 

